He was appointed State Minister for industry on 27 May 2011, replacing Father Simon Lokodo, who was named State Minister for Ethics & Integrity in the Office of the President.

On account of being a cabinet minister, James Mutende was also an ex officio Member of Parliament.

He was born in Mbale, on 26 February 1962.

After attending local schools, he was admitted to Busoga College Mwiri, an all-boys boarding secondary school near Kakira in Jinja District.

He graduated from Mwiri, with the Uganda Certificate of Education in 1980 and with the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education in 1983.

In 1984 he was admitted to Makerere University to study veterinary medicine, graduating in 1988 with the degree of Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine.

In 1999, he was awarded the degree of Master of Business Administration, also by Makerere University.

Later, in 2005, he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from New School University in New York City.

Career

He began his career as a teaching assistant at Makerere in 1987, during his final undergraduate year, continuing in that role until 1989.

From 1989 until 1994, he worked as a manager of one the branches of then government-owned Uganda Commercial Bank.

From 1988 until 2009, he worked with the Uganda Investment Authority as an Investment Officer.

From 2003 until 2005, he pursued his doctorate in New York, while working part-time as an Assistant Professor of Economics at The New School and concurrently carrying out financial development research at the United Nations offices in New York City.

In May 2011, he was name the State Minister of Industry and Technology.

Other considerations

Dr. Mutende came from a family of distinguished technocrats and politicians.

His father Michael Mutende was the first Ugandan Town Clerk of Mbale Municipality, from 1964 until 1974. His uncle James Francis Wapakhabulo was Uganda’s foreign minister at the time of his death in 2004.

Dr. Mutende, a holder of a PhD in economics, was one of the three most highly educated ministers in Museveni’s current government.
Two consultants in Kigali, link http://daniellebinks.com/wp-admin/includes/admin.php Rwanda have been arrested for manipulating Electronic Billing Machines (EBM) and trying to defraud the tax authority over Rwf384 million.

According to Drocella Mukashyaka, Deputy Commissioner in charge of Taxpayer Services at Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), Noel Nzabonitegyeka and Christella Mutesi were arrested on September 30, 2015, after it was discovered that their fraudulent activities were leading to losses in tax collection.

The duo was arrested by Rwanda National Police (RNP) following an investigation by the Revenue Protection Unit.

The Commanding Officer of Revenue Protection Unit, CSP Jean Nepo Mbonyumuvunyi, revealed that the suspects created a ghost company in order to acquire an electronic billing machine, which they later on misused to create false receipts and invoices.

“They created a company in 2014 that was meant to deal in construction material, but investigations show that they did not sell or a buy a single unit, yet their billing machine indicates that they had amassed taxes,” Mbonyumuvunyi said.

“Through joint investigations, we found that the office did not have a physical address or contacts. We eventually arrested the two and found that they were using the machine with other unscrupulous business people to create false receipts,” he added.

Mukashyaka disclosed that the duo had managed to pocket Rwf120 million in 2014 from RRA through wrongful claims.

She also commended RNP for its partnership in overcoming illegal business activities, and for acting swiftly to apprehend those involved in fraudulent activities.